Pearl

“Furthermore, it goes without saying that all of the people, living, dead, and otherwise, in this story are fictional or used in a fictional context. Only the gods are real.”
― Neil Gaiman, American Gods

“He lacked the ability to thrive in society, but also the resources to ignore it. All he could do was hang on to the edge, suffering.”
― Liu Cixin, Death's End

“Sometimes I thought life was precious, and everything was so important; but other times I thought humans were insignificant, and nothing was worthwhile. Anyway, my life passed day after day accompanied by this strange feeling, and before I knew it, I was old.…”
― Liu Cixin, The Three-Body Problem

“Humans are strange. … They value punishment because they think it means their actions are important—that they are important. … it's vanity.”
― Robert Jackson Bennett, City of Stairs